The prior art traction pin assembly is a multi-piece component that connects a railcar cab or house assembly to the railcar truck. As conventional, the traction pin assembly is welded to the underside of the railcar cab and engages the railcar truck assembly permitting the truck assembly to turn, or swivel, independently of the cab.
As is known in the art, the traction pin assembly includes several components that are welded together and to the railcar cab. These components include a cylindrical pin and multiple mounting plates. The pin is welded to the mounting plates which, in turn, are welded to the underframe of the railcar cab. The mounted traction pin assembly is then received in a mating opening in the railcar truck to complete the joinder of the cab to the truck assembly. Once assembled, the traction pin permits rotatable movement of the railcar cab relative to the truck assembly.
Known drawbacks exist with respect to the conventional traction pin assemblies. By way of example, the use of multiple plates to attach the traction pin to the railcar cab add significant assembly time, labor, and expense. In addition, the multiple plates, which are typically made from rolled steel, have mechanical properties that are very dependent on the rolling direction of the plate. As a result, the mechanical properties may vary for each mounting plate used in a traction pin assembly. Also, known traction pins are hollow and thus define a wall that must have a critical wall thickness to withstand stresses encounted during normal operation of the railcar. Because the traction pin is made from cast steel, variations in wall thickness may occur. As such, if the wall thickness of the traction pin becomes too thin, there exists the potential for a failure of the traction pin. These and other known problems with existing traction pin assemblies are overcome with the present invention.